STACK February 2016 Issue 136

he thing which drew us

in with DMA’s’ first single

Delete

, way back in early 2014,

was the street quality of Tommy

O’Dell’s vocals coupled with

really sensitive melodies and

arrangements. It was basically

that captivating tough outer/soft

inner paradox: a goodtime mutt

sincerely looking for a comforting

cuddle.

Hills End

follows through

on the Madchester promise with

DMA’S

HILLS END

ootsteps approach, keys jangle, a door

queaks open, then bangs shut – and Ty

egall’s eighth record of lo-fi-glam-garage-punk

egins. As a follow-up to 2014’s

Manipulator

t’s obvious the man has developed somehow,

ut just where that evolution’s tentacles have

prouted is enchantingly difficult to pin. The

uitar is still furry, but more unflappable; the

drum

lines

are ‘60s-crisp, but the

style

is still often really slushy; and

he’s doing far more of that fantastic device wherein the drums follow

every relaxed syncopation of the lead guitar’s riffs instead of just

keeping a backdrop metronome (particularly on opener

Squealer

). I

think that’s the genius behind

Emotional Mugger

– you can’t argue

any of this is a fool’s accident, because of the union between rhythm

and melody, even as all his weird little ideas hiss and purr around the

place. The best parts include the very

I AmThe Walrus

vocal vibe and

excellent drum pattern of

Emotional Mugger / Leopard Priestess

, the

duelling guitars and atonal

robotic jag on

Baby Big Man

the brief, frenetic tempo

bursts in

California Hills

and all that grubby guitar on

Mandy Cream

(the reference

to Milky Joe couldn’t be

more apt, as this one sounds

just like a homemade

puppet flinging about). So

much freaky fun to discover

between these layers.

(Spunk) Zo

Radas

TY SEGALL

EMOTIONAL MUGGER

earnest, woozy sweetness

that you suspect could turn

into a headbutt at any second.

This version of

Delete

has been

warmed up a little with string-

synth adding to its gentle build,

but the new tracks are absolutely

something else:

Too Soon

is a

perfect example of the modern

Britpop feel these boys are nailing;

you can hear The La’s clear

dexterity and Mac DeMarco’s

STACK

Picks

Too Soon, Step Up The

Morphine, In The Moment

“Look up here, I’m in

Heaven.” While there

may be no God, there is

always David Bowie. The

slightly overrated

The

Next Day

notwithstandin

it’s here in

Blackstar

that

the elusive artist has

truly opened his sacred

closet of curiosities, again, for us

mere mortals to peer in. Back in

November the title track attacked

the senses to shock and critical awe,

bravely showing his physical maturity

(no mean feat for a functioning

narcissist), and diving headlong into

experimental elongated rhythms and

pseudo kraut-jazz. It’s so listenable

you’ll find yourself constantly hitting

repeat, with gusto, on the mere

seven tracks on offer. Akin to

Station

to Station

meets elements of

Black

Tie, White Noise

(vastly underrated)

via Robert Smith’s penchant for

dreamy doom, this is classic Bowie:

challenging and infectious.

Lazarus

offers masterful landscapes with

danger and darkness always lurking

under each movement.

Girl Loves

enters

Outside

territory with

dashes of

Heroes, Low

and

Lodger

for good measure; reflecting those

e’s inspired over a vast

areer is indeed his right,

nd boy does he know

ow to use it.

It was at this point

penning this review

learnt of Bowie’s

nbelievable death.

Hearing the tracks

again, it’s cliché to read more into

it all... but knowing his theatrical

humour and grave seriousness of

intent, it

all laid out to decipher

and debate. The last offering from

our androgynous saviour, a lingering

taste to elongate until the palate is

bone dry, leaving us to ponder ‘why’

when in reality it doesn’t matter. It’s

the personal mindscapes and sheer

joy this artist with no peer shared

the past five decades that transcend

sorrow and shock. Let 2016 be the

year of the Diamond Dog himself;

the lad insane, the Duke of milky-

white slender and the man who fell

to Earth only to teach us of the stars

he’d soon return to. We will miss

him, yet we have much to enjoy and

digest in his wake.

There is no God, but there is

David Bowie.

(Sony) Chris Murray

DAVID BOWIE

BLACKSTAR

MUSIC

REVIEWS

jbhifi.com.au

FEBRUARY

2016

MUSIC

punch-drunkenness on

In The

Moment

and

Step Up The

Morphine

respectively; and

guitarist/producer Johnny

Took’s backwoods cowboy

leanings come out in

Blown

Away

and

Play It Out

. Don’t be

scared if you love every single

one of these, because under

the crumpled sweaters lie

emotionally intelligent hearts.

(I OH YOU/Mushroom) Zo

Radas